This book is full of great facts and science projects on the subject of wind, weather and the atmosphere.  The experimental procedures are well outlined step by step with good hypothesis questions to consider.  Some of the photography was dark and poor quality which detracted from my overall impression of this book.

This book could easily be used as a classroom textbook.  At the beginning, the author explains the geography and history of Africa and how it effects the culture of the various people.  This history lesson is significant in understanding how mythology was ‘rediscovered,’ so to speak.  There is no one set stories for all of Africa, but each region has it’s own.  Each region or culture has it’s own stories of creation or explanation for why things exist as they do.  This book is broken down into chapters with myths of the most well known history; i.e., how Anansi got his stories.  At the end of each chapter is a section titled, ‘Questions and Answers,’ which could be used as discussion topics.  Following this section, is a segment titled, ‘Expert Commentary,’ where Altman explains the chapter’s main themes.  A large portion of this commentary is useful, however, Altman goes into quoting paragraphs from published experts which seems a tad overdone.  Maybe this portion would be better suited to the older audiences.  The book finishes with a glossary, chapter notes (this is new to me, and leads me to believe that maybe this book was targeted towards a more academic audience), internet sites, suggestions for further reading, and an index.  Very complete.

As is true with all of the country books in the Enchantment of the World series, this book on Iraq would be the perfect source for a country report.  Geography, climate, language, religion, government are all detailed here.  A section on “Fast Facts” near the end of the book adds specific detail on elevation, average temperature, rainfall, population, currency, etc.

Interesting facts I learned about Iraq, previously known as Mesopotamia, include early achievements by the Sumerians: first to use the wheel, to develop metalworking, first accurate calendars, the invention of the concept of an “hour,” and the creation of the 1st written language.  From the Bible, the Garden of Eden is said have been located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and the Tower of Babel was believed to have been located in Iraq.

Written in 2012, this book includes the fall and execution of Saddam Hussein and the election of 2005 and the withdrawl of many U. S. troops in 2011.  The importance of the oil industry, tourism, and crop exports are all included as well.

Jeffrey Bones is a detective (think Nate the Great) and solves mysteries.  In this particular episode, he helps the clown at his friend’s birthday party find her missing clothes by using deductive reasoning.  Kids learning to independently read will enjoy being able to read this story.  The type is clear and large, the illustrations are simple and attractive (not too distracting), and the mystery might stump them.  It just depends on how good their deductive reasoning is.

For those interested in learning more about mythology, Egyptian Mythology is a good place to start.  First of all, the book is designed very well and is easy to follow.  There is a clear Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index.  The ratio between text and graphics is about 40/60.  The photo captions nicely explain the graphics, as well as restating what was in the text.  What amazed me was the overlap between Egyptian and Greek mythology.  Also, there are so many ‘current’ stories which are versions of myths.  All students who love mythology will find this book intriguing.

I loved this bedtime swashbuckler!  This clever and richly illustrated picture book captures the imagination as we follow little Charlotte Jane’s early years as the young child of a pirate couple.  Well loved by doting parents, Charlotte lives life to the fullest squeezing all the juice out of every day.  However, she declares, “bedtime is not juicy”.  So after staying up all night, she’s exhausted and can’t swash buckle at all!  Her Mom and Dad help her look for her oomph but it is no where to be found until Charlotte finally crawls into her hammock for some dreamy adventures.  The illustrations are gorgeous and detailed, causing me to pause to look carefully at each page to soak it all in.  The perfect bed time story book for young elementary students, I will recommend this one at check out time.

Elmer the patchwork elephant saves the day again with this latest story in the series.  A little elephant in a torn superhero costume asks for help to repair his suit.  Elmer leads him past everyone without being spotted to old Aunt Zelda who sews up the tears and sends Super El on his way for more superhero adventures.  A sweet and fun story with colorful and bright illustrations and lots of cheerful animals to capture young imaginations.

Elmer is a darling patchwork elephant who is featured in this series.  It’s Christmastime in this story and Elmer is in charge of all the young elephants on a walk up the mountain to choose a Christmas tree while the adults wrap gifts for Papa Red (elephant Santa).  That night, Papa Red arrives to pick up the gifts in his sleigh so he can deliver them to those who need them.  The young elephants are thrilled to watch him from behind the bushes and fall asleep only to find a gift tucked next to them in the morning.  Cute and fun, colorful and sweet, young ones should enjoy this twist on the Santa story.

This is a really interesting 32 page non-fiction book featuring 10 of the tallest and most amazing skyscrapers in the world.  Filled with large and beautiful photographs of these buildings, the reader gets a birds-eye view.  Each page has just enough interesting and unique facts to keep the reader’s interest.  The page layout and graphics make a pleasing and easy to read format.  All can be summed up in my 12 year-old son’s comment, “This is a cool book!”.   The ATOS level 5.9 (.5 pts) is a good match with the material’s target interest level (3rd – 6th gr).

Like the sport books by Orca Publishing, this short novel will appeal to reluctant boy readers who want an easy-to-read book featuring older characters.  17-year old Sammy is usually the hardest-hitting member of his baseball team.  However, when his team signs up for a wooden-bat only tournament, Sammy finds himself in a hitting slump, unable to get his timing down with a different-weight bat.  No one is harder on him than himself, frustrated and hot-headed over his inability to hit.  The temptation to use performance-enhancing drugs is strong, especially by  Sammy’s dad.  Sammy, however, finds other ways to impress the scouts.

This is a wonderful book for young children about penguins.  The pictures are beautiful and clear.  The vocabulary is easy to understand, and the book has a simple glossary at the end.  The book reads quickly and is informative and interesting.

I thought this book was going to be about a spoiled little girl, and was pleasantly surprised that she was kind, hard working, and able to make a good situation out of her disappointment.  It was sweet and thoughtful.  The pictures add to the wonderful personality of the story.  A fun story for young children.

This graphic novel brings together many super heroes, and some villians, and aliens.  It was somewhat confusing trying to keep the past and present straight.

This book is a fast read for third or fourth graders.  a great book for comic lovers.

This book is a rhyming book that starts with the “Hey Diddle Diddle”, but it take off in a different direction with animals playing instruments.  At the end of the book they are all in a music box.

Cute turn at the end.

This is a fun imaginative story about live snowmen.  The characters are all snowmen.  The little snowman found he learned a lot by getting out of the rut of daily snowman life.  It’s a good lesson to us all.

Cute, easy to read.

This is a fun book that tells about Mardi Gras.  What the holiday is for and how it began.  We learn how the holiday is celebrated and how New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama became famous for the holiday Mardi Gras.  There are games and decorations for the holiday that can make it a fun party.

Another tried and true Lola and Charlie story with an issue close to the heart of reading fans…fear of losing our best friend.  Lola and Lotta do everything together.  They play witches making spells.  They swap lunch items.  They observe the tadpoles in the school fishpond, imagining the tadpoles are playing hide and seek.  When Lotta is asked to show the new girl, Evie, around, Lola feels more and more left out…thinking she has lost her best best friend.  It soon becomes apparent to Lotta that Evie has trouble relating to the world of imagination and creative play (“I don’t think tadpoles play hide and seek.”)  Evie gravitates to another girl in the class as Lotta runs to play with Lola.  The author’s signature style of dealing with big life issues in a subtle and understated way, I believe,  allows the reader to be more focused on their own personal feelings and reactions to what they have just read.  Great discussion book.

This is a wonderful 210 page biography about the life and accomplishments of Girls Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low.  It is full of engaging pictures from throughout Ms. Low’s life.  The text is well-researched and organized, making it interesting and easy to read.  Our school has many Girl Scouts who I think will be very interested in reading this book.  I highly recommend it for a school library.

The letters in Alphabet City are happy with the status quo except for X, who calls for a new alphabet where he can have a more prominent place in words and not be the third from last all the time.  During a dream before the vote, he revisits the responsibilities of the the other letters in keeping the quirky rules of the American English language (i.e. “i” before “e” except after “c”)…and decides he likes his place after all.  A fun and informative text, with kooky, colorful, and bold graphics that are very kid-appealing.

I’ve been waiting for a series to come along that could knock Wimpy Kid off its  pedestal as the most popular series in my library.  Well, this may be it… Aldo Zelnick Comic Novels.  Artsy Fartsy, Bogus, and Cahoots.  These are an action packed alphabet series with laugh-out-loud, smart, fast moving stories.  The slap stick comic illustrations provide spot-on kid humor.  In Bogus, Aldo, a believable kid, with quirky charm, finds what he thinks is a bogus diamond.  In reality, it is not…and carries a$1000 reward.  He loses the ring, and must solve the mystery of its whereabouts.  In the process, the good karma from helping those in need becomes more important than the monetary reward.  Wait…you will love Aldo even more  as an impressive linguist who incorporates challenging “B” vocabulary words in his Bogus sketchbook, with explanations in the “B” Gallery in the back of the book.  Save room on your shelves…for 26 volumes.  Move over Wimpy Kid!

In the 1200’s the Mongol Empire was huge, covering almost all of what we now call Asia and parts of Europe.  In order to maintain control over such a large area, the Mongol warriors were fearsome.  They were highly trained in fighting techniques.  Their weapons and body armor were designed for the utmost protection.  Their sheer numbers and organization easily overwhelmed enemies.  The mighty Genghis Khan ruled over 50 years, but after the death of his grandson, the empire broke into four different empires, each ruled by a different leader.  But the strength of the parts did not equal the strength of the whole, and each  empire eventually was conquered by enemies.  Interesting to see how well organized and equipped they were nearly 1,000 years ago.

Since the latest round of movies that deal in history, i.e., Gladiator, 300, Clash of the Titans, Troy, and so on, there has been a strong interest, mainly from boys, of ancient warriors.  Spartans is a hybrid of sorts, combining history with mythology, and so it appeals to a larger group.  Sparta was/is a Greek city-state and had a large, well-trained, disciplined army of warriors.  Their weapons, helmets, red clothing, shields, and breastplates were all impressive, made for safety as well as to show their strength and superiority, in fighting as well as in life.  All in all, the Spartans were very successful, until overcome by sheer quantity of enemies.  The Persian army (Iranian) significantly outnumbered them and this was, consequently, the end of the Spartans.  It was about 480 B.C.E.  The book was interesting, however, I wished it had a pronunciation key after some of the Greek terms.

From wind chill charts to how a GPS works, this Fourth Edition of  The Handy Science Answer Book really has the answers.  And as the title suggests, the arrangement and the short answers really do make it handy.  I believe this book could be a life saver for a student who’s tackling a difficult concept and needs a point at which to begin.

A chart identifies the smallest and largest vertebrates.  Another chart gives official names of male and female animals, such as alligators, which are known as “bulls” and “queens.”

If you have the time, pick this book up and just read it.  The Concise, well-written and sensible answers will tell you if groundhogs can accurately predict the weather or if a ring around the moon can do the same.  There’s even a section that explains general relativity in just eight lines.  What could be better than that?

This was a good basic biography of Abraham Lincoln. It is 48 pages long with large font type and engaging photographs, illustrations and embellishments on every page. The balance of text and visual aid holds the reader’s attention and reinforces the information. Although there is no great detail about any one topic, Abraham’s biography was covered sufficiently to provide a basic understanding of his great accomplishments, struggles, and legacies to our nation. A summary of the Civil War, including some of the decisive battles, is nicely woven into Lincoln’s biographical information. There is an Accelerated Reader test leveled at 6.3 (1 point), although the interest level rating is lower grades which seemed a bit low to me. I think the 4th-8th grade students at our school will be interested in this book.

This is one in a series of 10 books, each featuring a Latin American country. The others in the series include: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. This book is heavy on informative text, all you would need to write a school report about the Dominican Republic. The text is well-written and dense with interesting facts about the history of the country, language, culture, food, lifestyle, economy and commerce, politics and government, famous people, festivals and attractions, and historic sites. There is a nice map and several interesting photographs. I would have liked to see brighter, more vibrant photography in this book as well as more appealing formating to increase readability and interest for students. As of today, there was not an Accelerated Reader test for this title.